Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Sorrow and Bliss

I've read this book for so long idk how to talk about it. I spent 6 months reading it lmao. Okay. This is a character driven book and the character has a mental illness. It wasn't mentioned what, but in the back of the book it said that it was a fictional illness. I don't really know a lot about mental illness but the symptoms are similar to at least depression. So. We're with this character all the time. And it was hard sometimes bc she can be very annoying at times. I stopped reading in the beginning bc of how ungrateful she was of her husband. As far as we know he did nothing wrong (and he really did!). But i really like the writing style and i think i'm going to like what this book is trying to offer. I LOVE stream of consciousness writing.

Reading this kinda reminds me of: "Really Good, Actually" by Monica Heisey (bc of the stream of consciousness and funny writing, and bc it's a journey of a woman towards having a breakdown. But "Sorrow and Bliss" was more rollercoaster-y mentally and has a more sombre tone to it), and the movie "About Time" (bc of this big british family characters that are very present in the book and they're all unique although not as functional as the movie).

People always talk about the sisterhood in this book and yes. I agree. It's so heartwarming in a non-cheesy way, bc these sisters refused anything cringy lol so don't worry. But it was so warm and made me cry.

I cried at the end of this book. It was a touched-cry. Not a sad-cry. My worry when starting this book was it's gonna be depressing. But for me personally, it's not. Like I said there are times where the main character was so so unbelievably annoying, but it was then balanced with a loooot of warmth and hug from other characters and the main character herself. And the humor. I love the humor.

I still don't know if i'm gonna give it 4 or 4.5 stars though. idk why

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lolasherwin's review

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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m_corsano's review

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funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I adored this book. The writing style is so intimate and precise that is almost read like someone’s (my own?) diary. It is the most accurate and sympathetic depiction of living with mental illness or having someone in your life with mental illness I’ve ever come across. This is a book I will think about for a long time. It changed me.

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alisonhp's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. One of my favorite books I’ve read this year. I wasn’t convinced by the description, or from the first few chapters. Then, suddenly, I found myself oscillating between feeling deeply moved and bursting out laughing.

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books4em's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book is all vibes, no plot. Not going to lie, was not a fan of this book at all. I related to the feelings of relief and understanding when she got her diagnosis, but that was about it. It’s a hot mess and the side characters are all over the place as well. They often claim to be doing their best to help the MC, but that “best” is a rally low bar. I also thought it should’ve ended at the journal scene. The ending is a good ending for this book, but I still don’t think the last 30ish pages were necessary. Won’t be rereading.

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jackalexdale's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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liesbethvv's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book really grew on me. I felt a bit disconnected from the main character Martha from the beginning, as she struggles through her relationships, romantically and within her family and friends but the second half of the book just blew me away. How well constructed, how painful to see the unreliable narrator fall into despair and with a few plot twist thrown in the different topics just slot together so well.
I must say this is definitely not a lighthearted or laugh-out-loud funny book to me, but the banter between Martha and her sister Ingrid is so, so drily funny it made me smile a lot.
I would definitely recommend this read, albeit a hard one, if only to augment one’s empathy towards the others, you never know what a person is dealing with.

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jupiter5's review

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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